New Life With The Same Old World

If you have a copy of Gods Word, we’ll be in Titus Chapter 3 today. Titus Chapter 3, Verses 1-8 specifically. This will be part 4 of a little break-off series that I’ve been gradually walking us through over the last number of months.

To briefly bring us up to speed, this book of Titus is a letter to Titus from the Apostle Paul. Titus received this letter while he was stationed on the island of Crete, where Paul had left him in order to continue on in the ministry efforts that they had previously joined in together there.

This island had a mixture of both Gentiles and Jews, and historically had earned quite the pagan reputation for itself. And yet in the midst of this dark island, the light of the gospel was advancing, people were coming to faith in Jesus Christ, and young Christian communities were being formed. And so from afar, in an effort to continue to minister to these young Christian communities, Paul wrote Titus this personal, pastoral letter.

In part 1 of this series, we looked at Paul’s opening greeting in verses 1-4 of Chapter 1. Within this greeting, Paul not only reminded Titus that he was writing on good apostolic authority, but he also reminded him of his good apostolic purpose, which was all about ministering to God’s elect…ministering to Christ’s Church, ultimately for the sake of their sure hope of eternal life in Christ Jesus.

In part 2, we looked at the rest of chapter 1, where Paul shows Titus (and us) that a vital component of having healthy, established churches is having healthy leadership in place. This was one of the main reasons that Paul left Titus in Crete…to appoint qualified elders who would faithfully shepherd these young Christian communities. And this was of great importance in Crete. Not only did these Christians need sound leaders to guide them as they were living on this pagan island that was flooded with pagan living…but they needed sound leaders to protect them from seemingly religious people who had crept into their midst and were upsetting whole households with their false teaching.

The false doctrine and the damage done by these false teachers was simply a byproduct of their impurity. Paul tells us that they were “insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers”…that they were “teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach”….that they were “liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons”…that they were “devoting themselves to Jewish myths and the commands of people who turn away from the truth”…that they were “defiled and unbelieving”…that “their minds and their consciences were defiled”…that they “professed to know God, but denied Him by their works”…and that they were “detestable, disobedient and unfit for any good work.”

So Paul gives strong exhortation to Titus about these false teachers, and about the necessity of having qualified elders in place to deal with them. And in doing this, he also prepares to show Titus (and all Christians) that there is to be a strong contrast between those impure false teachers, and believers who have been purified in Christ. A strong contrast not only from what they were falsely teaching, but from the impure fruit that they were altogether bearing.

And this is what chapter 2 is all about, which is what we covered last time in part 3 of this series. In verse 1 of chapter 2, Paul instructs Titus to “teach what accords with sound doctrine.” Paul’s words here harken back to the very first verse of his whole letter, which essentially serves as his thesis statement. He wrote this in chapter 1, verse 1: “for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness.” So then back to chapter 2 verse 1, what is it then that Titus is to teach that accords with sound doctrine? What is that he is to teach that accords with the one true gospel? Godliness! Godliness accords with the Gospel. And we know this because this is exactly what Paul goes on to write about for the vast remainder of chapter 2. He spills a lot of ink talking about what a “life downstream from the gospel” looks like…what it uniquely looks like depending on one’s specific demographic or station in life…and what it uniformly is to look like for all Christians, which is this: selfless, sacrificial love—Christlike love—for the sake of others. It’s this kind of biblical godliness that ultimately adorns the gospel. When we live in a way that “fits” with the gospel, the beauty and the transforming power of Christ & the Gospel is put on display.

And how is it that godliness is formed in the life of believers? By that very same transforming power of Christ and the gospel! After spending much of chapter 2 giving exhortations on what godly living looks like, Paul then tries to motivate and empower these believers toward godly living by pointing them right back to Christ and the Gospel. He writes that in Christ Jesus, “the grace of God grace has appeared, bringing salvation”….and that it’s this same grace of God that “trains us to renounce ungodliness and wordly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age.” And that it’s our Savior, Jesus Christ, who continues “purifying us as a people who are zealous for good works.”

In contrast to the unbelieving false teachers in Crete who were “unfit for any good work,” as believers in Jesus Christ, we have been saved in order to be “a people who are zealous for good works.” This is who we are in Christ, and by faith this is what we are called to pursue. And what wonderful news it is that, by God’s grace, He trains us up for this as His redeemed people.

And all of this now brings us to today’s passage in Titus chapter 3. Although it’s through a bit of a different lens, Paul is going to continue to show us how godliness accords with the gospel. And yet again, he’s also going to continue to show us how godliness is formed by the gospel. How God, in His grace, is committed to training us up as His people who are zealous for good works…and not only that, but how He even makes us capable of good works in the first place.

So at this time, if you’re able and willing to do so, I invite you to stand with me as I read our passage for us.

Titus Chapter 3, Verses 1-8. This is the Word of the Lord.

Titus 3:1–8 ESV

Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people.

Father, we thank you for Your Word. We ask that Your Spirit would renew us by the preaching of it today, as you continue to conform us unto the image of Your Son. Amen.

Thanks for standing…you can go ahead and have a seat.

Well as I already mentioned, back in Chapter 2 Paul spilled a lot of ink talking about what living downstream from the gospel looks like. And for the most part part, his exhortations were more focused on what this looks like within the contexts of the household and the community of faith.

Living godly lives for the sake of our homes and for the sake of our brothers and sisters in Christ is of utmost importance. And yet as believers, as important as it is for us to do life together within these contexts, we know that these aren’t the only contexts in which we live. Our Heavenly Father hasn’t called us to merely live in these air-tight bubbles together. He’s not only training us up to live godly lives before our households and before our fellow believers, but He’s also training us up to live godly lives before this unbelieving world where we live…before this unbelieving world where we are “waiting for our blessed hope”, the return of our Savior.

Beloved: “our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” And as we eagerly await the return of Christ, God has ordained for us to adorn the gospel before this unbelieving world by the way in which we live with them. Though we are not called to be sinfully “of” the world, we are called to be lovingly “in” the world.

And so here in chapter 3, as Paul continues to talk about godliness that accords with the gospel, he shifts his focus to what this looks like for believers living in an unbelieving world. What our new life in Christ is to look like in the same old fallen world. And not only does he show us what this looks like, but also how God graciously forms this aspect of godliness in us.

Needless to say, living as believers with an unbelieving world can be very challenging. This makes consistent reminding and encouragement necessary. And so in that vain, and most importantly in the vain of Paul’s own writing here, we’re going to consider this passage under the headings of 4 basic reminders. And then for good measure, lest we forget, we’ll close be re-visiting some of Paul’s important words.

So with that being said, let’s consider our first heading—our first reminder—this morning. As believers who are called to live godly lives before unbelievers, we must Remember What Our New Life With the World Looks Like.

While Paul doesn’t give us an exhaustive list in these first 2 verses, he does cover a lot of ground by giving 7 different commands. And from these 7 commands, I think we can roughly break them down into 4 general exhortations.

First, in verse 1 he tells Titus to “remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient.” Cretans were well-known for rebelling against authority. This kind of rebellious spirit was also something that was prevalent within Jewish culture against Roman authority. Paul was calling on these Christians in Crete to be different. To be set apart. This is the call for us as well. We are to submit ourselves under the rule of civil authorities that have been placed over us. And who places them over us? Sure, in one sense, the free will of man does by way of whatever electoral system is in place. But ultimately it is the Sovereign God of the Universe who puts these rulers in their positions. No matter how evil a ruler might be, that ruler’s authority exists according to God’s Sovereign will. And so this calls for us to curb fleshly impulses to rebel and undermine their authority, and to instead obediently submit to God by obediently submitting to the rulers and authorities that He has ordained over us.

When functioning rightly, civil authorities are a part of God’s common grace that He gives to the world to keep evil in check and to preserve society. This is a gracious gift from him that we should embrace. Obviously in a fallen world, civil authorities don’t always function rightly. Massive understatement, right? And so this doesn’t mean that God calls us to blind, unconditional obedience. Think about the Jewish Midwives who disobeyed Pharoah’s command to kill male babies. Think about Peter and the apostles who continued to “disobediently” proclaim the gospel amid authoritative commands to stop. There are limits to our submission under civil authorities. If we are asked to clearly sin against God in order to obey them, that’s where the boundary of our submission ends. May our response be the same as Peter’s: “we must obey God rather than men.”

The second exhortation that Paul gives is “to be ready for every good work.” He uses some all-inclusive language here. The reality is that day in and day out, there are countless opportunities for good works in this world. There’s also the reality that we can’t do everything. This is something that I’ve personally been contemplating more as of late. I’m grateful to have a young child and to be working on a family farm, but there are also many days that go by where I don’t interact with the unbelieving community around me. So it’s good for me—and it’s good for us—to consider ways in which we can eagerly serve the world around us. May we pray for providential appointments…for new opportunities…and for wisdom and zeal to steward the time, opportunities, and people in front of us well. Though our riches are in heaven, we are to invest into this world where God has us. May we be ready and willing to do this.

The next exhortation that Paul gives is “to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling.” Again, he uses some all-inclusive language here. How challenging this had to have been for these Christians living on an island known for being full of “liars, evil beasts, and lazy gluttons.” Living on an island where greedy & deceptive false teachers were “upsetting whole families.” How hard it had to have been to exercise self control in an effort to speak evil of no one and to avoid quarreling. But this was their set-apart, high calling as Christians. And this is our calling as well. Jesus asks this question in Matthew 5: “if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?” Friends, it’s one thing for us to love the “easier” ones…the ones who treat us well. But what about the “not so easy ones” in this world? As verse 3 helps us see, our world is full of unbelievers who are foolish, disobedient, selfish, and full of hatred. It can be very challenging to curb our natural impulse of speaking evil of them or being quarrelsome with them. But this is what we are called to do. We are called to engage with people in this world differently than what we would do naturally! This doesn’t mean that we aren’t to speak words of truth to them…may we gently speak truth in love…but we are not to be oppositional against them! Our neighbors are not our enemies! The sin that enslaves them is the enemy…the very same sin that used to enslave us is the enemy. We are no different from the world, other than that we have received a wealth of mercy and grace in Christ. So out of this wealth, may we invest mercy and grace into others by the way that we speak of (and to) them. We are no different from the world, other than that we have received a wealth of peace in Christ. So out of this wealth, may we strive to refrain from quarreling and instead invest peace into this world. In doing all of this, the gospel is adorned, and the world is able to see (and benefit from) it’s transforming power.

Continuing on in verse 2, the last exhortation that Paul gives is “to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.” Once again, this is a big challenge for these Christians in Crete, and an all-inclusive, high calling for us as well. The language that Paul uses here is actually the same language that Jesus Himself uses in Matthew 11 where He says that He is “gentle and lowly.” As those who have been united to the gentle and lowly One, this is to be our posture before others…including our posture before an unbelieving world. An unbelieving world—again, as verse 3 tells us—that is full of very difficult people who are foolish, disobedient, selfish, and full of hate. We must curb our natural inclination of being harsh and inconsiderate toward others. We must refrain from our fleshly impulse of having the exact opposite posture of being gentle and lowly. We must refrain from being When we around difficult people, isn’t it

*V2: “and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.” This idea is one that Jesus uses of himself in Matthew 11 when he says that he is “gentle and lowly”. Same word used. Not overly impressed with your own importance. Not standing on your high horse. Jesus condensended and came down to us. How could we as sinners put ourselves on a high horse? Again, we are to be like this toward everyone…to the foolish, disobedient, hateful, etc. This is reflective of properly understanding who we are APART FROM CHRIST. Verse 3 is so important for understanding the first 2 verses. We are no different in and of ourselves! The evil things that we see others do is totally in us and would come out of us if it weren’t for the grace and mercy of God. It feels so good to feel good and to feel better than others, because we don’t have to deal with our own brokenness! Everything good is us is from God and his goodness, loving kindness, mercy, and grace. We are no more deserving of God’s grace than anyone! Even than the worst people you can imagine! Nothing is more incoherent than an arrogant, self-righteous Christian. A way of engaging our fellow sinners that involves some sort of superiority is completely antithetical to the gospel. It is not what grace trains us up into. We are called to live with other sinners as sinners who have found mercy, not as those we are superior to or better than them. Have you ever had someone relate to you self righteously? Are you drawn to that person? What kind of relationship does that breed? When we relate to them with courtesy, as other sinners who have found hope, it is radically different. It adorns the gospel. Understanding our sinfulness, and the riches of God’s grace and mercy to deal with our sin. We are not called out of the world. We are trained up in the world to relate to it in love. Sinners who have found freedom who have sent back to sinners who need that very same thing. The world will hate us. God loves us. When we relate to the world this way, we put a little bit of flesh on the words that we preach. We adorn the gospel when we demonstrate it’s transforming power. Because of the work of Christ, we are freed to love the world in an uncompromising and incredibly gracious way.

I. Remember What Our New Life With The World Looks Like (v1-2)

-heights of this new calling ; sober awareness of how challenging this can be

-challenges of our remaining flesh means that we need constant reminder

3:2 “to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people” - being ready for every good work obviously includes the positive side such as these examples. Perfect courtesy toward all people? Even the ones who are far from courteous to us? Even the ones who have hurt us the most?

-3 often over looked evidences of gospel change: submissiveness (v1), kindness in speech (v2), and humility (v3). If the gospel has not transformed us in these areas, we cannot claim to know anything of its power (1 John 3:16-24, James 1:26-27, James 3:6-12). These are examples of fruit that is produced by the gospel of grace, coming from regenerated, believing hearts of faith.

-again, Paul is making a direct contrast between the lives of true believers and false teachers (1:10-16, 3:9-11). The false teachers were full of dissension, controversy, quarreling, divisive, insubordinate, empty talkers, deceivers, upsetting whole families, detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work, defiled and unbelieving.

-main idea of Titus 3:1-8: “We have been born again to live a new life of good works.”

-Main headings: 1) We must be ready for good works (v1-3) ; 2) We have been regenerated for good works (v4-7) ; 3) We will be rewarded for good works (v8)

-We Must Be Ready for Good Works (v1-3)

*Paul admonishes those in Crete to live distinctively different lives. He does so by giving them and us principles to live by in v1-2, an principles that stand in stark contrast to how we used to live as described in v3.

*Paul provides 7 commands that fall roughly into 4 categories:

1-We submit obediently (v1). Matthew 2:21, Romans 13:1, 1 Peter 2:13-14. Our submission to rulers and authorities is evidence of our submission to and trust in God.

2-We serve eagerly (v1). “Be ready for every good work”. Similar to what Paul had just wrote in 2:14, to be “zealous for good works.” We look to aid, assist, and help others in any and every opportunity.

3-We speak gently (v2). “speak evil of no one”, “avoid quarreling”. “Be gentle, and show perfect courtesy toward all people.” The regenerate person refuses to cultivate and then exercise verbal or physical abuse. As far as it depends on us, we seek to live at peace with everyone (Rom 12:18).

4-We show humility (v2). “Be gentle, and show perfect courtesy toward all people.” A conscious placing of others ahead of ourselves. It is the essence of the mind of Christ. This sums up all the prior commands.

*In these verses, Paul prescribes how we are to relate to the unbelieving in the secular world around us

*our Father trains and raises us up to live in the world, yet not of the world.

*Paul draws out how grace trains us in 2 particular relationships here: 1) Civil Government, and 2) Broadly to Our Unbelieving Neighbors in the World (“we ourselves were once”)

*V1: ”Remind them”. Instructions that have already been given. Remember that Paul had already been in Crete, so these are not new instructions. Consistent reminding of these things. Our fleshly tendencies call for consistent reminders!

*V1: “to be submissive to rulers are authorities, to be obedient,” Be obedient to the civil authorities that have been placed over us. It’s really easy to justify our natural impulses to not be submissive to our (often very sinful/greedy) civil rulers and authorities. Cretans were well-known as being rebellious and underminers of authority. This resistant/rebellious spirit was also something that was prevalent in Jewish culture vs. Rome. Paul is striving to steer the Church in Crete away from this mentality. Civil government is legitimate and necessary. It is established by God (Rom 13). Our disposition toward civil government and authority is less about their performance, and very much to do with our understanding of God and how He works in the world. Why submit? If we have a right view of a sovereign God who ordains all things, who stands up every government and uses them for His good pleasure, we will recognize that every authority holds their power because He ordains it! He commands us to submit to what He has ordained. What are civil authorities? They are a part of God’s common grace given to the world to check evil and preserve society. Unrestrained humanity would be an unmitigated disaster! God’s ordaining of civil authorities was to check evil. It’s a gracious and kind gift to the world to mitigate the effects of sinners relating to one another in a world operating under the curse of sin. In this, it also serves God’s purposes of redemption, allowing His redemptive plans and actions to continue on. They are a subordinate authority under God. Scripture examples of disobeying earthly authorities in order to obey God: Jewish midwives in Egypt. Daniel continues to pray, though there is a ban. Shadrech, Mechech, and Abendego refusing to participate in mandated idol worship in Babylon. The apostles in Acts 5 refuse to stop preaching Christ. These weren’t mere dislikes and disagreements with policy. Obeying our civil authorities is obedience to God until they make it impossible to do both, because they go beyond what they are called to do. When we see exceptions in scripture, we should see them as exceptions. We should not take them as excuses to foster a rebellious spirit toward God’s appointed authorities. Daniel, Shadrach, Meschach, and Abendego were incredibly faithful servants of their pagan government while in exile. They were valued and beloved by their government because they served so well…it broke their rulers hearts when they had to punish them because they had otherwise served so well. Living as citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven involves living as faithful citizens here in whatever temporal nation that God has placed us in.

*V1: “to be ready for every good work.” The fact that we are citizens elsewhere doesn’t mean that we neglect the world and our neighbors in it. Our hope is not in this world, but we need to be actively involved in this world for good. God’s words through Jeremiah to the exiles in Babylon are applicable. Jeremiah 29:4-7““Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon:” Jeremiah 29:4-7. Though our riches are in heaven, we are to invest into this world where God has us. We are not only to do good to one another as believers (Ch 2), but unbelievers as well!

*V2: “to speak evil of no one.” We are talking about speaking evil to no one…including foolish, disobedient, hateful people. This is hard, and we are to engage with people in a very different way to what we would do naturally! This doesn’t mean that we don’t speak truthful. We speak the truth “for them.” We are not to be oppositional to them! Our neighbors are not our enemies! The sin that enslaves them is the enemy…the sin that used to enslave ourselves. We are no different from the world, other than that we have received mercy and grace. Our goal is not to destroy our neighbors, but to free them. Not to beat them but to win them. Not to own them but to love them. The grace of God trains us to do this.

*V2: “to avoid quarreling.” The greek word is actually a little different…it’s more positive, “to be peaceable.” To be inclined toward peace. Not inclined toward conflict. This doesn’t mean not standing up for truth when necessary. We should not be defined by conflict, but peace. The gospel has brought peace! We have a wealth of peace, and so we should invest peace into this world.

*V2: “to be gentle”. This word is along the lines of being “lenient”. To have a gracious disposition. Not overly harsh and demanding. Again reflective of how God relates to us! Patient with people’s sins and shortcomings. Not surprised that sinners sin.

*V2: “and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.” This idea is one that Jesus uses of himself in Matthew 11 when he says that he is “gentle and lowly”. Same word used. Not overly impressed with your own importance. Not standing on your high horse. Jesus condensended and came down to us. How could we as sinners put ourselves on a high horse? Again, we are to be like this toward everyone…to the foolish, disobedient, hateful, etc. This is reflective of properly understanding who we are APART FROM CHRIST. Verse 3 is so important for understanding the first 2 verses. We are no different in and of ourselves! The evil things that we see others do is totally in us and would come out of us if it weren’t for the grace and mercy of God. It feels so good to feel good and to feel better than others, because we don’t have to deal with our own brokenness! Everything good is us is from God and his goodness, loving kindness, mercy, and grace. We are no more deserving of God’s grace than anyone! Even than the worst people you can imagine! Nothing is more incoherent than an arrogant, self-righteous Christian. A way of engaging our fellow sinners that involves some sort of superiority is completely antithetical to the gospel. It is not what grace trains us up into. We are called to live with other sinners as sinners who have found mercy, not as those we are superior to or better than them. Have you ever had someone relate to you self righteously? Are you drawn to that person? What kind of relationship does that breed? When we relate to them with courtesy, as other sinners who have found hope, it is radically different. It adorns the gospel. Understanding our sinfulness, and the riches of God’s grace and mercy to deal with our sin. We are not called out of the world. We are trained up in the world to relate to it in love. Sinners who have found freedom who have sent back to sinners who need that very same thing. The world will hate us. God loves us. When we relate to the world this way, we put a little bit of flesh on the words that we preach. We adorn the gospel when we demonstrate it’s transforming power. Because of the work of Christ, we are freed to love the world in an uncompromising and incredibly gracious way.

II. Remember What Our Old Life With The World Looked Like (v3)

-depths of our old sin nature

III. Remember That God Saved Us Out Of Our Old Life (v4-7)

-Triune God (good & loving Father ; accomplished by Son ; applied by Spirit)

-Spirit’s Regeneration & Initial Renewal

IV. Remember That God Saved Us Unto Our New Life (v7-8)

-Our new life of hope in our eternal inheritance as heirs

*The Spirit’s sealing work and guarantee of our inheritance

-Our new life of good Kingdom work as heirs (the believers & unbelievers)

*The Spirit’s ongoing renewal work to keep us going

-Our new life of confidence knowing that our godly pursuit is for our good (and others) and not in vain

-He is our Mediator! The God-Man who shares in our humanity

3:1 “Remind Them” - After using the Roman Household Code method (in Ch. 2) to exhort the various demographics toward godliness, Paul now uses more plural/collective language to continue to exhort them toward godliness and good works. Sound living that accords with sound doctrine/gospel.

3:1 “be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient” - being submissive to rulers and authorities means being obedient to them. This doesn’t mean blind, unconditional obedience. Think about Daniel & friends in Babylon with King Nebuchenezer. Evil as they might or might not be by their own will, remember that God has sovereignly ordained these positions of authority. Also remember that God/Christ himself is our supreme authority. If rulers & authorities command us to do something that would be sinful against God’s clear moral commands, we must disobey our earthly authority.

3:1 “to be ready for every good work” - all inclusive language. There are countless opportunities for good works. Pursue the next good work in front of us.

3:2 “to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling” - being ready for every good work means being ready to refrain from every bad work such as these. Speak evil of no one? Even the ones who have hurt us the most? Quarreling does not foster unity that we are to be eager to maintain within the church. Being quarrelsome out in the world is bad for our witness and for the adorning of the gospel message.

3:2 “to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people” - being ready for every good work obviously includes the positive side such as these examples. Perfect courtesy toward all people? Even the ones who are far from courteous to us? Even the ones who have hurt us the most?

3:3 “for we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.” - As he already did in Chapter 2, Paul again reverts back to gospel realities in an effort to motive these Cretan Christians to pursue godliness & and every good work. He reminds them about the bad news of who they were before Christ saved them. Not that there is no longer a fleshly struggle with these negative qualities as believers, but this is no longer who they are and how they are called to live. “Being slaves” and “passing our days” and “hating one another” indicate a settled state of bondage to the world & opposition to God, rather than bondage to Christ & and opposition to being of the world. It indicates a lack of recognition, conviction, and repentance of sin. It indicates and absence of faith & fear of the Lord. While God doesn’t call us to live in the shame of our old self, it’s important that we not forget that this is still us apart from Christ.

3:4-5a - “But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy” - We all were passing our days sinfully and selfishly. We weren’t seeking God, seeing our separation from God, nor seeing our need for a savior. We were unrighteous. By works of righteousness no one is justified before God. But God our Father saved us. He bestowed mercy upon us. Orphans pass their days as orphans until the goodness and loving kindness of parents appear and redeem them out of orphanage & into their family.

3:5b-6 “by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior” - The term “Savior” applied to both God the Son and God the Father (earlier in v4). Obviously the Holy Spirit is also involved in saving us. God (3 persons, 1 God) saves sinners. How does God the Father save us? By His Spirit, through His Son. God the Father richly pours our His Holy Spirit richly on His elect, and the Spirit regenerates and renews the hearts. All of this is through God the Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior. Nicene Creed: “I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, Who proceeds from the Father and the Son. Ezekiel prophecy of God giving new hearts to his new covenant people. John 3 about the Spirit’s regenerating work unto new life and kingdom of God. Born again, “of the Spirit.”

3:7 “so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life” - the Spirit’s regenerating and renewing work on our dead hearts gives us new living hearts of faith. Faith in Christ. Order of salvation: election—>gospel call—>regeneration—>faith/conversion—>justification. Every sinner whom God effectively calls & regenerates comes freely & willingly to Christ in faith, and is thus justified by God’s grace through faith. Being justified by God’s grace not only means that we are in right standing with him, but that we become heirs (co-heirs with Christ) with the sure hope our eternal life inheritance. The presence of the Holy Spirit unites us to Christ and is the guarantee of our inheritance (Eph 1:13-14).

3:8 “The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people.” - Paul’s sayings…these gospel sayings are trustworthy! Why? Because, back to 1:2-3, “in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior.” The same Savior God who accomplished redemption through Jesus Christ also brought forth this trustworthy good news of Jesus to be remembered, cherished, and tapped into for godly living! Insist on the good news of regeneration, justification, and being co-heirs with Christ, and thus full of the hope of eternal life. Continually insisting on God’s redemptive work and gospel promises is the most important recipe in our efforts to to devote ourselves to good works. Remember the utter depravity God saved us out of, and remember what He has saved us into. Be constantly reminded of who we are now in Christ (co-heirs) so that we can strive to live like who we already are! Status forward! Heralding God’s saving grace is excellent and profitable for people. In so many ways! Rest, assurance, motivation, hope, thankfulness. Fruit bearing! The same Spirit spirit who brought forth the fruit of faith bears all sorts of other fruit in and through us. Fruit that people profit from, ourselves included!

-3 often over looked evidences of gospel change: submissiveness (v1), kindness in speech (v2), and humility (v3). If the gospel has not transformed us in these areas, we cannot claim to know anything of its power (1 John 3:16-24, James 1:26-27, James 3:6-12). These are examples of fruit that is produced by the gospel of grace, coming from regenerated, believing hearts of faith.

-again, Paul is making a direct contrast between the lives of true believers and false teachers (1:10-16, 3:9-11). The false teachers were full of dissension, controversy, quarreling, divisive, insubordinate, empty talkers, deceivers, upsetting whole families, detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work, defiled and unbelieving.

-v4 “but when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared” - Same kind of language as in 2:11, “for the grace of God has appeared, training us to renounce ungodliness…”. Christ’s appearance among his people to display the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior is presented as the means by which His people are motivated to “devote themselves to good works”. Transformation comes from the “appearance” of the loving kindness of God our Savior to our hearts. All true godliness is a consequence of understanding that God mercifully came and found us. He “appeared” to us. We did not, fundamentally, seek after Him. This appearance not only removes the penalty of our sin, it liberates our hearts from “slavery to various passions.” Such a radical transformation fuels the good works that Paul so repeatedly calls for in this book/letter. The point of Christ’s coming was to make God’s grace “appear” to the hearts of hearers. Apprehending the grace of God creates in us a stronger desire for God that brings all lesser desires into captivity. Standing in awe of what God has done for us will do more to transform our hearts than piling up good works in a subtle attempt to appease God.

-Verses 5-7 - few passages in the NT better capture the totality of Christian salvation than these verses. God and God alone “saved us”, not due to any contribution we make but solely due to His own mercy (v5). God’s mercy gives us new birth, or “regeneration”, the total renewal of who we are by the Holy Spirit (v5). This regeneration washes us. We messy sinners get clean not by washing ourselves but by being washed by the Spirit, poured out on us (v5-6). We learn that justification—being declared acquitted and righteous in God’s divine courtroom—is only “by his grace” and makes us not only righteous but heirs, with Christ, of all things through the hope of eternal life (v7). Salvation through the gospel is a total salvation, and is totally by God’s own free grace, enabling us to live with godly abandon—living for Christ without being intimidated by the world or enslaved by its motivations.

-Verses 7-8 - Throughout this letter Paul weaves together the indicative (the fact of our settled status in Christ) and the imperative (commands about what we should do for Christ in response). Paul does not merely tell believers to rest in grace; he urges them to strive for godliness. While our righteous standing before God has been settled, our sanctification is a lifelong struggle. The answer to legalism is not to cease preaching Christian imperatives, but to ground them in the indicatives of the gospel. An acute awareness of God’s free acceptance of us in Christ transforms the heart in such a way that we devote ourselves to godliness. Indeed, it is striking that Paul tells Titus to “insist on these things”—presumably the great salvation with all its dimensions outlined in verses 3-7—”so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works.” (v8). Gospel preaching leads to godly living. Believers know they are not saved because of their righteousness, but because of the unmerited kindness of God (v5). We need constant reminders of this unmerited grace in every age, lest we turn the very doctrines God intended to humble our flesh into mechanisms for its exaltation. The doctrines of grace are not intended to fill us with pride in our knowledge or privilege.

-main idea of Titus 3:1-8: “We have been born again to live a new life of good works.”

-Main headings: 1) We must be ready for good works (v1-3) ; 2) We have been regenerated for good works (v4-7) ; 3) We will be rewarded for good works (v8)

-We Must Be Ready for Good Works (v1-3)

*Paul admonishes those in Crete to live distinctively different lives. He does so by giving them and us principles to live by in v1-2, an principles that stand in stark contrast to how we used to live as described in v3.

*Paul provides 7 commands that fall roughly into 4 categories:

1-We submit obediently (v1). Matthew 2:21, Romans 13:1, 1 Peter 2:13-14. Our submission to rulers and authorities is evidence of our submission to and trust in God.

2-We serve eagerly (v1). “Be ready for every good work”. Similar to what Paul had just wrote in 2:14, to be “zealous for good works.” We look to aid, assist, and help others in any and every opportunity.

3-We speak gently (v2). “speak evil of no one”, “avoid quarreling”. “Be gentle, and show perfect courtesy toward all people.” The regenerate person refuses to cultivate and then exercise verbal or physical abuse. As far as it depends on us, we seek to live at peace with everyone (Rom 12:18).

4-We show humility (v2). “Be gentle, and show perfect courtesy toward all people.” A conscious placing of others ahead of ourselves. It is the essence of the mind of Christ. This sums up all the prior commands.

*Paul knew that one way to appreciate who we are now is to remember who we used to be, to draw a contrast between how we are now cannot act with how we then had to act before we met Jesus Christ.

*if we are to see clearly our need for the new birth, we must deeply know the nature of our own sin.

*Paul noted 6 ways in particular that sin enslaved and held us captive:

1-Sin Deceives. “once foolish”…”once…led astray” (v3). Senseless, ignorant, without spiritual understanding, taking ourselves in the wrong direction.

2-Sin Disobeys. “once…disobedient” (v3). Natural bend to disobey. Disobedient to God, authorities, anyone and everyone. Want what we want.

3-Sin Dictates. “once…slaves to various passions and pleasures” (v3). Enslaved to ourselves and our own lust and pleasures controlled us. Never-satisfied taskmaster of ourselves.

4-Sin Detests. “once…passing our days in malice.” Living with an evil attitude of mind which manifests itself in ill-will and desire to injure.

5-Sin Desires. “once…passing our days in envy.” Living with envy is an unquenchable desire to possess what we do not have. Envy will never be satisfied and always desire more.

6-Sin Destroys. “once…hated by others and hating one another.” Natural outgrowth of envy.

*This is a picture of who we were but not of who we are now. The gospel changed everything! We are now a new creation and are ever ready for good works because we have been saved and regenerated by God our Savior!

-We Have Been Regenerated for Good Works (v4-7)

*Millard Erickson defines regeneration as “the other divine side of conversion. It is completely God’s doing. It’s God’s transformation of individual believers, His giving a new spiritual vitality and direction to lives when they accept Christ.” In other words, it’s a new birth for a new life.

*Paul was interested in both the “nature” of the new birth and the “results” of the new birth. He was convinced that a new birth would be evidenced in a new life…a new life exploding in good works.

*God saved us in order that we would do good works (Eph 2:10). Good works never save, but good works flow from those who are saved. Through the new birth, we are a new creation! Think about the new birth and new living that Paul himself was a testament of.

*What does Paul teach us in these verses? 4 truths:

1-God Cares for Us (v4) - “but when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared”

2-God Changes Us (v5) - “he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.” God saves us by regenerating our hearts, thus changing us. We used to be dead spiritually. Any “good” deeds were like filthy rags before God. What did God do? Saved us. Why? goodness, loving kindness, mercy. How? by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, through Jesus Christ our Savior. Regeneration consists negatively of a removal of filth and positively as a renewing. Regeneration washes us and makes us clean through a new birth. This washing has nothing to do with external water baptism, but rather the internal washing of the Holy Spirit. Ezekiel 36:25-27. Ephesians 5:26.

3-God Has Come for Us (v6) - “Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior.” He has come for us in the Person and Savior Himself, Jesus Christ. He continues to be with us by means of His indwelling Spirit, who has been poured out on us richly. Spirit doesn just wash us clean and then leave. We are Sealed with the Spirit.

4-God Comforts Us (V7) - “so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” To be justified means to be declared righteous. By virtue of the imputed righteousness of Christ, we stand before God just as if we had never sinned and just as if we had always obeyed God perfectly. We are not “made” justified”. We are “declared” justified. And how did we received this legal acquittal and, this forensic standing of righteousness before God? Again, by his goodness(v4), loving kindness(v4), mercy(v5), and grace(v7). Having saved us, regenerated us, renewed us, and justified us, He now comforts us with a word about our future, reminding us that we are heirs according to the hope of eternal life. This is a reality now, though it is not yet our full possession. There is no question that this inheritance will be received. As a work of our triune God, the Father(v4-5), the Son(v6), and the Holy Spirit(v5), it is a signed sealed, and settled issue.

-We Will Be Rewarded for Good Works (v8)

*”The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things.” This is surely pointing back to gospel truths packed into verses 4-7. Because of the importance of these words, they should be repeated, memorized, or even sung. We insist on these things in our Lord’s Day gatherings! Continually sing songs about God saving us, and gospel rich truths! These gospel sayings should also have daily and personal application in our lives, and this is exactly what we see in this verse: “so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people.”

*We should affirm good works. The call toward good works is divine, it is from God himself!

*We should be active in good works. Those who have been regenerated and renewed by the Holy Spirit are now described simply as “those who have believed in God.” And because they have believed, they should “be careful to devote themselves to good works.” The new birth will result in a new life. Death is replaced by life. The flesh is captive to the Spirit. Evil works are overcome by good works. Such works are more assuredly good and profitable for everyone, saved and unsaved, the latter seeing the beauty of our new life and being drawn to Christ who changed us, the Christ who can change them too. This is indeed a great reward for those of us who have been regenerated by the gospel of King Jesus.

*only those who have been regenerated by the power of God, been renewed by the Spirit, been justified by grace, and believed in Jesus and Jesus alone will go to heaven. Yes, we all need a new birth for a new life today and forever. This new life overflows into a life of good works that testify to the goodness of our God and His love for all people in Jesus Christ. This is the power of the gospel. This is the new birth for a new life.

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible Chapter 3

1. Put them in mind—as they are in danger of forgetting their duty, though knowing it. The opposition of Christianity to heathenism, and the natural disposition to rebellion of the Jews under the Roman empire (of whom many lived in Crete), might lead many to forget practically what was a recognized Christian principle in theory, submission to the powers that be. DIODORUS SICULUS mentions the tendency of the Cretans to riotous insubordination.

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible Chapter 3

to obey—the commands of “magistrates”; not necessarily implying spontaneous obedience. Willing obedience is implied in “ready to every good work.” Compare

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible Chapter 3

gentle—towards those who attack us. Yielding, considerate, not urging one’s rights to the uttermost, but forbearing and kindly (see on

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible Chapter 3

3. For—Our own past sins should lead us to be lenient towards those of others. “Despise none, for such wast thou also.” As the penitent thief said to his fellow thief, “Dost thou not fear God … seeing that thou art in the same condemnation.”

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible Chapter 3

were—Contrast

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible Chapter 3

hateful … hating—correlatives. Provoking the hatred of others by their detestable character and conduct, and in turn hating them.

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible Chapter 3

of God our Saviour—Greek, “of our Saviour God,” namely, the Father (

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible Chapter 3

of righteousness—Greek, “in righteousness,” that is, wrought “in a state of righteousness”: as “deeds … wrought in God.” There was an utter absence in us of the element (“righteousness”) in which alone righteous works could be done, and so necessarily an absence of the works. “We neither did works of righteousness, nor were saved in consequence of them; but His goodness did the whole” [THEOPHYLACT].

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible Chapter 3

mercy—the prompting cause of our salvation individually: “In pursuance of His mercy.” His kindness and love to man were manifested in redemption once for all wrought by Him for mankind generally; His mercy is the prompting cause for our individual realization of it. Faith is presupposed as the instrument of our being “saved”; our being so, then, is spoken of as an accomplished fact. Faith is not mentioned, but only God’s part. as Paul’s object here is not to describe man’s new state, but the saving agency of God in bringing about that state, independent of all merit on the man’s part (see on

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible Chapter 3

by—Greek, “through”; by means of.

the washing—rather, “the laver,” that is, the baptismal font.

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible Chapter 3

of regeneration—designed to be the visible instrument of regeneration. “The apostles are wont to draw an argument from the sacraments to prove the thing therein signified, because it ought to be a recognized principle among the godly, that God does not mark us with empty signs. but by His power inwardly makes good what He demonstrates by the outward sign. Wherefore baptism is congruously and truly called the laver of regeneration. We must connect the sign and thing signified, so as not to make the sign empty and ineffectual; and yet not, for the sake of honoring the sign, to detract from the Holy Spirit what is peculiarly His” [CALVIN], (

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible Chapter 3

The laver of cleansing stood outside the door of the tabernacle, wherein the priest had to wash before entering the Holy Place; so we must wash in the laver of regeneration before we can enter the Church, whose members are “a royal priesthood.” “Baptism by the Spirit” (whereof water baptism is the designed accompanying seal) makes the difference between Christian baptism and that of John. As Paul presupposes the outward Church is the visible community of the redeemed, so he speaks of baptism on the supposition that it answers to its idea; that all that is inward belonging to its completeness accompanied the outward. Hence he here asserts of outward baptism whatever is involved in the believing appropriation of the divine facts which it symbolizes, whatever is realized when baptism fully corresponds to its original design.

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible Chapter 3

“Saved us” applies fully to those truly regenerate alone; in a general sense it may include many who, though put within reach of salvation, shall not finally be saved. “Regeneration” occurs only once more in New Testament,

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible Chapter 3

and renewing—not “the laver (‘washing’) of renewing,” but “and BY the renewing,” following “saved us.” To make “renewing of the Holy Ghost” follow “the laver” would destroy the balance of the clauses of the sentence, and would make baptism the seal, not only of regeneration, but also of the subsequent process of progressive sanctification (“renewing of the Holy Ghost”). Regeneration is a thing once for all done; renewing is a process daily proceeding. As “the washing,” or “laver,” is connected with “regeneration,” so the “renewing of the Holy Ghost” is connected with “shed on us abundantly” (

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible Chapter 3

6. Which—the Holy Ghost.

he shed—Greek, “poured out”; not only on the Church in general at Pentecost, but also “on us” individually. This pouring out of the Spirit comprehends the grace received before, in, and subsequently to, baptism.

abundantly—Greek, “richly” (

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible Chapter 3

7. That, &c.—the purpose which He aimed at in having “saved us” (

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible Chapter 3

8. Greek, “faithful is the saying.” A formula peculiar to the Pastoral Epistles. Here “the saying” is the statement (

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible Chapter 3

These things—These results of doctrine (“good works”) are “good and profitable unto men,” whereas no such practical results flow from “foolish questions.” So GROTIUS and WIESINGER. But ALFORD, to avoid the tautology, “these (good works) are good unto men,” explains, “these truths” (

LIVING WITH THE WORLD (3:1-3)